For more information contact UAS Information Officer Kevin Myers at 796-6530 or by email.

Current Release

Archived Releases

To view the many activities
& events on the UAS campus
view the What's Up Calendar.

April 25, 2003
UAS Thirty-second Commencement

University of Alaska Southeast will hold its thirty-second Commencement ceremony on Sunday, May 4, 2003 at 2:00 pm in Centennial Hall. A separate celebration will be held for graduating Native students hosted by Preparing Indigenous Teachers for Alaskan Students staff, the Native Student group, Wooch.een, and the Native & Rural Student Center, on Friday, May 2, from 5-7 p.m. in the Egan Library.

H.A. “Red” Boucher will provide the Commencement Address and will receive an Honorary Doctor of Letters Degree. Boucher represents the first wave of the new pioneers of Alaska, whose leadership has created the infrastructure to help better govern the state. Many point to Boucher’s vision in bridging the state’s digital divide; a bridge that is helping to close the gap between urban and rural areas by connecting them through technology.

Red was born on January 27, 1921, in Nashua, New Hampshire, just across the Massachusetts border and a few miles from Lowell the birthplace of the Industrial Revolution. Perhaps it is appropriate that Red helped to usher in the Information Revolution to the 49th state and continues to be on the forefront of its technological development.

Red is a decorated 20-year veteran of the U.S. Navy, who considers the two most important years of his life to be those spent in the Pacific theatre on the aircraft carrier USS Enterprise during WWII. The USS Enterprise is the most decorated ship in naval history and was involved in such key battles as Midway and Guadalcanal.

The Navy is where Red was introduced to radio broadcasting and computer communication technology. He comes from a military background. His father died of complications that stemmed from a mustard gas attack during WWI while he was stringing communication wire near Verdun France, and his mother was one of the first women Chief Petty Officers in the Navy during WWI. When Boucher rose to the rank of Chief Petty Officer, Admiral William F. “Bull” Halsey placed the pin worn by Red’s mother on his cap saying, “I doubt like hell if many sailors in this man’s Navy can say their mother was a Chief.”

Following his retirement from the Navy, Boucher came to Alaska as a sporting goods representative and founded the Alaska Goldpanner college-level baseball program. Over 170 men who played under Boucher went on to play Major League Baseball, including Hall of Fame member Tom Seaver. On September 20, 2002, the Baseball Hall of Fame recognized Boucher’s contribution to America’s Pastime during Alaska Day.

Fairbanks was named an All American City under Boucher’s leadership as Mayor for its handling of the 100-year flood that inundated the city in 1967. As Lieutenant Governor under William Egan, Boucher led the media effort to build national support for the Trans-Alaska pipeline and spearheaded the development of a statewide telecommunications system that brought telephone and television to remote Alaska.

Red’s public service career continued in 1984 as the State House Representative from Midtown Anchorage. He chaired the House Special Telecommunications Committee and along with Fran Ulmer introduced legislation that established the Telecommunications Information Council.

In the past few years, Red’s legend as Alaska’s Digital Pioneer has been well documented in publications such as the Washington Post and Wired Magazine. On Red’s 79th birthday he was awarded the Alaska Distinguished Service Medal by Governor Tony Knowles, “For exceptional meritorious service in a succession of key positions, all of which have had a significant and lasting impact upon the citizens of the State of Alaska.” He was also awarded the President’s Y2K Distinguished Service Medal for his work with Alaska Natives to prepare for the millennium rollover.

Red is currently the President of Alaska Wireless Inc., consultants for COMPAQ/HP and Alaska Communications Systems, and serves as an advisor to the Alaska State House of Representatives IT Committee. He currently resides in Anchorage with his wife Vicky Elkins Boucher and their daughter Lara.

-30-

News Release Home / Archive Home / Back to 2003 archives